


An Extraordinary Day

by Spazzo47



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Newsroom Fanfiction Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22839880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzo47/pseuds/Spazzo47
Summary: For Lilac Mermaid's Fan fiction challenge from January 2016 . Crossovers and AUs.This AU is set on 9/11, a time when our cast is just starting to work together.  This is a story of how they covered tht extraordinary day.
Relationships: Will McAvoy/MacKenzie McHale
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	An Extraordinary Day

**8:46 AM**

Mac heard a boom and woke up. “Did you hear that?”

“Just some kids, playing. Go back to sleep.”

It didn’t take long for her phone to ring. “Charlie?”

“Mac, you need to get to the studio immediately. There’s been an accident.”

Mac got out of bed and found a TV to turn on. “What happened?” When the TV came fully on, she saw it. “Oh my God.” She looked at the man who rolled over to get some more sleep and said, “I’ll call Will and we’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Charlie’s voice seemed hurried, “I can call him. You just get here, you have the morning crew here now, they’re getting witnesses on the phone.”

“Right. When I get in, I’ll start calling my producers. Let me call Will, he needs to get used to taking order from me.”

Charlie didn’t sound convinced, but he agreed and hung up. So much for easing into this new job. She walked backward towards the bed and shook the man snoozing in it. “Will. Wake up, we have to get to work.”

Will squinted his eyes as they adjusted to the light in his apartment. It was no 1 Hudson Place, but it was close enough to work that if the traffic gods smiled on them, they could get to the office in 15 minutes. Mac grabbed her go bag and started toward the bathroom. Will asked if she wanted him to make breakfast. Mac laughed, “we don’t have time. Put enough clothes on to be decent and then we have to get out of here.”

Will rubbed his face, barely awake enough to have this, or any conversation. “No breakfast? At least take a shower. We can double up and get done faster.”

Mac, trying to just get enough done to get out the door, got irritated. “Will, look at your TV screen. We’ll get showers in the fitness center when we send to DC. Hair and makeup will give you a shave.”

When Mac started talking, Will looked at the TV and saw the image of one of New York’s biggest buildings with a gaping hole and smoke pouring out of it. He immediately went to his closet and found a pair of jeans and a blue long sleeve shirt. He registered what Mac said as she opened the bathroom door, now completely dressed. “I don’t like other people shaving me.”

Mac looked at the screen and turned up the volume to hear how their coverage. “Really? I thought that all guys loved a hot towel shave.”

Will took just a moment to block a particular memory of his father from his mind before he said, “That’s not what hair and makeup will do.” He looked at Mac studying the TV. They didn’t plan this little tryst, or whatever the fuck it’s called when you sleep with a co-worker you’ve been flirting with and kind of dating for a couple weeks, but wanted to wait because you hope that it might get serious. “Do you want me to make some toast or something? I was going to make you a big breakfast.”

Mac rolled her eyes. She knew, or thought she knew, what he was doing. And she might think that his attempt at impressing her was sweet if they didn’t have to go. She didn’t want this, whatever this is. Her career may not be able to handle this. She didn’t plan it, but it happened. And now she has to deal with the fallout. She looked at Will who looked sincere and decided she’d deal with the fallout when it happens. 

She started working for ACN a couple months ago with the directive to fix his show. Charlie gave her carte blanche to define “fix” anyway she wanted. She immediately made changes that Will hated as he watched her take away his most popular segments. The nature of anchors and executive producers is such that no network would ever give an anchor the power to fire an EP. She always thought of it like a separation of powers. He focused on ratings and she focused on quality. In a good relationship, they found enough common ground to build both. They didn’t start off with a good relationship. But, after a difficult first month with him, Charlie insisted they spend some time together outside the office, “to build chemistry,” he said. Will did not shy away from expressing his displeasure at having to take her out on a date night, since she came in before the “ass-crack of dawn” and then insisted on going out with the “kids in the newsroom” before going home. Since she refused to disrupt her circadian rhythms on a weeknight, he had to give up a Saturday night by default. Much to the surprise of both, they had a lot of fun. 

“Thanks for the thought, but we don’t have time. We need to get there now. Hopefully no one will notice if we arrive together. I don’t want anyone to think I got this job based on anything but my merits.”

Will smiled. The first time Will took her out socially, he invited her to a Leonard Cohen concert. He figured that way he’d have a good evening even if she did have a stick up her ass. When he picked her up, he saw the most attractive woman he’d ever seen in real life. And when Will was invited to come on stage with the band, Mac was very obviously as impressed with him. Since then, their relationship changed. They’ve gone out with the team for drinks after the show almost every night and he’s taken her on proper dates the last two weekends. He’d have taken her out more often than that, but didn’t want to come on too strong. Last night they had a lot of work to do, so Will suggested they go back to his place to finish up. They had a few drinks as they worked and when they were done, neither wanted her to go home, so she didn’t. He didn’t plan the night to end with her naked on his bed, even when he invited her over, but he didn’t regret it, and hoped she didn’t either.

“Believe me. If they saw me fucking you in the middle of the bullpen, and by the way, if you wear that short skirt again, I just might, they would still know you got this job because you’re the best fucking EP in the business.”

That earned him a quick kiss. “Thank you for respecting me in the morning, but I don’t get off on PDAs and we need to get out of here. Do you have a driver at the ready?”

Mac watched Will look at the clock and shake his head. She didn’t like the idea of fucking her boss, but she couldn’t deny her attraction to Will. He was so different from the other men she’d dated. Definitely different than her last boyfriend, but, that was a low bar. She’d noticed after their Charlie directed social outing, Will started staring at her at work. Then he started listening to her ideas and she began to fall for his intellect and quick wit. They just had a spark that she didn’t expect. Last night she intended to come over for just an hour, but one thing led to another and next thing she knew she woke up with him just as big news hit. 

“I do have a driver I can call, but hailing a cab will take less time than waiting for the service to get someone out.” 

“Let’s go and we’ll call ahead to wardrobe to make sure they have a suit ready for you when we get there.”

The two walked to his apartment door. Will took both their bags and looked at her duffle. “Were you planning to stay here?”

Mac, thinking through what to expect at the studio asked, “What?”

As they walked down the three flights of stairs, since Mac thought it would be faster than waiting for an elevator, Will answered, “You came to do work with an overnight bag?”

“I brought my go bag. Good thing too.”

Will felt a pang of disappointment at her answer. “How many changes of clothes do you have in there?”

“If I need something for tomorrow, I’ll grab something from wardrobe.”

As soon as they exited the building, they saw the outline of the North Tower and an amazing plume of smoke. Will and Mac made eye contact and just knew what to do. Will started working on getting a cab while Mac took out her phone and called the studio. She didn’t know the person who answered the phone, so she introduced herself and said she was on her way in and expected Will there shortly as well, then asked what they knew and what was happening on the air. 

They didn’t know much. At 8:46 something happened to the North Tower. There are unconfirmed reports of a passenger plane hitting it, but no one has gotten a word from the FAA, any airline, or their usual government sources. They assume there are causalities in the building, the scanners say first responders are on the way and are evacuating. They are talking to witnesses in the area while they wait for something official.

Mac took the information in. Will seeing the traffic jam signaled for her to follow him to a subway entrance. Mac got off the phone and followed Will’s lead, taking his hand as they descended to the subway. She gave him as much information as she had and started rattling off plans for the coverage. 

“Mac, Mac. Slow down. There are too many questions right now. You can’t call any of those people or send out any of those correspondents until we get to the studio. So just relax for the next 15 blocks.” Will looked at Mac who obviously had decided against pausing for a short period of time. 

“We should have walked. We’d be there by now.”

That comment got Will laughing. “Not in those heels we wouldn’t.”

Mac gave him a sidelong look and started laughing. “How are you so calm? 10-12 floors of people are likely dead and if that was a passenger plane…”

“This is my city. I care more than you know.” Will paused trying to put his thoughts together. He’d never tried to explain this to anyone before and only hoped that it would make sense to her. “I spent a big part of my life trying to make this city safe by prosecuting people for doing unspeakable things. I learned early on that I have to relax before I go in front of a jury. If I went in front of them screaming and yelling, then I lost them, I didn’t connect. But if I centered myself, like I did when I played football, then I could be more intentional.”

“And that worked for you?”

“96% conviction rate.” 

Mac looked at him impressed. “So the audience is just one big jury?”

“Similar, but not the same. In both cases, I have to stay even keeled, and convince them that they can trust me to know the facts and discern what they need to know.”

“I guess that means you have to trust me to actually know the facts.” Mac watched Will cock his head with a lopsided grin. She thought about her experience, “I’ve been a journalist since I could hold a pencil, for me, nothing is more important than finding the truth and informing the public of it.”

“Then it sounds like we’re a good team.” Will smiled at her again and said, “There are more important things.” Will took her hand and held it as the subway came to a stop. “This is us.”

“Let’s go.”

When Will and Mac got off the elevator no one even looked up from their computers and phone calls. Someone immediately took Will to get a suit and tie while Mac raced to the studio. Her regular crew hadn’t made it in yet so she looked at the monitors to find out what ACN had on the air. The morning show apparently went into news mode, Elliot Hirsch, the morning show’s resident news guy led the coverage, which included a picture of the North Tower smoking and Elliot talking to a producer who lives near Battery Park. Mac picked up a phone and called down to the morning control room. “This is Mackenzie McHale, Executive Producer of _News Night_ , let me talk to your EP.”

“You’re talking to him.”

“Don? Who do you have on site? Have we heard any numbers from the FAA? Any estimates on the number in the tower? How many floors --”

“We’re working on it, Mac. Look, come down here and I’ll get you caught up.”

“Okay, I’ll be –”

“OH, SHIT!”

The phone went dead. Mac started yelling for Don. When he didn’t answer, Mac hung up and ran to the morning’s control room, telling someone she passed to get Will to the morning show studio immediately. 

When Mac opened the control room door, she saw what caused the reaction from Don. A second tower had smoke pouring from it. Elliot announced that it looked like an explosion and he thought he saw a plane fly through their shot before it happened. For a moment, Elliot couldn’t say anything. And neither could anyone in the studio. Finally, Mac pulled herself together. “Elliot, this is Mackenzie McHale, Will is going to join you as soon as he gets a suit on. Hold it together and give a recap of what we know.”

Elliot looked visibly shaken, but said, “Obviously there are a lot of questions and we’ll bring you answers as we get them. What we know right now is that about 20 minutes ago an apparent accident happened at the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Eyewitnesses have said they saw a passenger plane hit the building, but we have not yet received confirmation on that from the FAA. And just now a second explosion in what looks like the South Tower...”

“Do we have a correspondent down there yet?”

“Just a second Mac,” Don said, looking over her shoulder at one of the monitors. He walked out of the control room. She started to follow him until she heard a couple crew members talking. One of the reporters out there has a husband who works in the North Tower. It began a discussion about people they knew who worked in the area. 

Mac heard the director say they had a caller on the phone. She realized that Elliot needed some direction. “Elliot, ask the caller what’s happening now. Don’t mention the planes again until we get confirmation. We don’t want to elevate this to a panic.” Elliot asked the caller if she had a view of the south tower, but she was panicking. Mac asked who they had on the way to the site. 

“Jim Harper and Maggie Jordan.”

“Get me an ETA.” She turned her attention back to Elliot. “Elliot, tell her to get somewhere safe and start narrating what you see until we get someone else on the phone.”

“Jim says traffic’s not moving, they’re trying to clear the area. This may take awhile.”

“Get him out of the car and as close he can be while being safe.”

As Mac tried to find something else to fill the time, Mac saw Will’s head running into the studio. At the same time, Kendra ran in with a new caller. 

“Will, we have an eye witness on the phone. Name is Judy Aukmeister.”

Mac looked behind her. “I want to get that image off our screen. Will, are you able to take the coverage for a little while. Vamp some so we can get organized back here?”

Mac saw will nod in her monitor. “OK. Kendra, put Judy on hold for a little bit. Who’s my director?”

“Me, I’m Herb.”

“Herb. Good to meet you. On my signal, count us down and give me a two shot on Will and Elliot. Video, can you get us the live shot in a corner. We want to see if anything happens, but I want to see calm people, not… that.”

“On it.”

“Will, Elliot, we’re going to you.”

Herb took the cue and started counting down from 5. On his go, the Special Report screen went up.

Mac turned to her crew and asked them to gather the rest of the staff for a quick meeting in the bullpen. When they cleared the room, she turned back to the monitors and looked at Will’s face. “Will, I need to give the rest of the crew the chance to take care of their business, so control’s going to be unmanned for a few minutes. I’ll get someone in here as soon as possible. Tap your pen if you’re okay with that.”

Will tapped his pen on the desk and Mac said an audible thank you before leaving the control room.

When she left, she looked around her bullpen and saw a crew of people she didn’t know look completely stunned. Many didn’t seem to know what to do. She quickly saw Charlie and made eye contact. Charlie nodded his head and went to the control room. She didn’t know if Charlie knew what she planned, but this was her newsroom, so it was call. She would live with the consequences. 

“We have Will and Elliot on air right now and Charlie is manning the booth by himself. We don’t have a lot of time. On a day like to today we need as many hands on deck as possible, but I know everyone here has someone they’re worried about. If you need leave and look for someone, no one will look down on you. If you can make phone calls from here and find out, we will give you that time.”

Mac paused and watched as several staff members reluctantly walked out. She looked at the rest of her staff and said, “Okay, we’re going to be on this all day. The afternoon crew… the ones that can make it… will be here soon and the night crew will be here in a few hours. This team has the first shift. We need to work the phones and get anything we can. Any contacts. Any video, b-roll. Anything you have. Don, can you split this team into groups and start working out a 24 hour schedule, assume, for that we have the same numbers in the next groups.”

Don nodded his head. Mac continued. “We need to start thinking proactively. What are some things we might be able to prepare for right now?” As Mac started working on what to expect, Charlie signaled that he would go into the control room and took Joey and Herb with him. 

Neal answered Mac’s question. “I know you don’t want to say it yet, but we saw the airplane in the shot and people talked about a plane in the first building. What if there’s more?”

“Don, we need a group listening for news of grounding flights.”

Kendra asked, “what about the buildings?”

Gary answered, “They were built to withstand a plane crash.”

Mac thought for a second. “That’s comfort we want to give. Kendra, right? Can you find an architect that will say that on the air?”

Tamara suggested, “My parents have never been to New York. Maybe we can put a package together that shows where this is.”

Mac nodded her head and made sure that Don got people working on the good ideas. Once everyone had something to do, she went back to the control room. Charlie had Will talking to a witness. Charlie said to Mac, “We need to find a way to get Elliot off the air. He needs to check on his family too.”

“Can we put the camera just on Will for a minute and let Elliot leave? Will can explain that news people are human too.”

Charlie nodded his head and Mac turned her headset on so Will and Elliot could hear her. “Will, we’re going to zoom on you and let Elliot leave. You can either explain before or after. We’ll follow your lead. Elliot, watch the monitor for your cue.”

Will wrapped up the call he was on and said, “You are watching continuing coverage of this incredible morning in New York. I’m Will McAvoy with Elliot Hirsch. Elliot is like many of us in New York, he has a family that he is thinking about right now and he wants to know that they are safe. So, we’re going to let him leave the studio and check on his loved ones.”

“Thank you Will.”

Herb called for the camera to change so that Will sat by himself. He allowed himself a look at the towers. He tried to ignore the picture, hoping that if he didn’t see it, then he could focus a little better. But as Elliot walked out, Will realized how lucky Elliot was to have someone that he could worry about. 

“Will, they are grounding all flights to, from and through the city. And the president is going to speak from a school in Florida in about 10 minutes.”

Will heard Mac’s voice and immediately sat up a little straighter and focused harder on his job. What did she say earlier? Nothing is more important to her than finding the truth and telling the public about it. That’s what he needed to do today. She would find the truth, he would report it. 

Mac watched Will. It took a lot of trust from him to keep going without doing the research himself. He had to believe that she would give him nothing but facts or else it could end his career. She had to trust that the crew outside control vetted everyone they put on and got their information from good sources. She definitely had the easier job. 

About 10 minutes later, Mac announced that the president was coming up and they put the shot of the Florida school up. As soon as the president started talking, Jenna gave Will a couple bottles of water and Mac asked him what else he needed. He said he was okay. Mac asked if he could go until noon and then they can send to Washington for a little while. “I can do two and a half hours, but can we find another shot? Need water breaks.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Mac told him some ideas they have for coverage while Don listened to the press conference. On Don’s signal, Mac said, “Last call. Looks like they’re wrapping up.”

While Will drank as much water as he could, Don summarized what the president said so Will had some talking points. Will said, “You know, something like that would have taken about 15 minutes to write. I wonder how long it took the new guys.”

“Trying to focus again?”

“Every athlete has a pre-game ritual.”

Before Mac could respond, Herb said, “Going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”

During the countdown Mac tried to help him out, “Now you’re an athlete?”

On Herb’s 3, will smirked at her through the monitor, then put on his game face, “That was President George W Bush, ending his short statement from Emma E Booker Elementary School by saying, ‘Terrorism against our nation will not stand.’” Will took a second to compose himself. The word terrorism stuck out to him. “The president confirmed what many of us have suspected over the last hour or so.”

Don looked pensively at Mac during Will’s hesitation. “Do we need to pull him? Washington is on standby.”

Mac watched Will and looked at the Washington feed. “He’s got this. Tell Washington they’ll be on at noon.”

Don nodded his head and reluctantly followed the instruction. Mac talked to her anchor, “So what are you? A striker? I could see you out on a football field trying to score.”

Will kept up the broadcast, but tapped his pen so Mac knew he got the message and appreciated her centering him. Don looked at Mac, “What the fuck is that? Some sort of code?”

“Something like that.”

In another extraordinary 12-minute period, the plane crashed into the Pentagon, the FAA grounded all flights, and government buildings were evacuated. Each time Mac passed information to Will, she reminded him he can take a break, because she could see the news wearing on him. At 9:59, Will was talking with a correspondent in Washington. Mac asked Maggie what happened. In tears Maggie said that the South Tower had collapsed. Mac signaled to Don to tell Will to prepare for a transition. Then she said to Maggie, “We need you to tell this story, tell what you’re seeing. But you have to be calm Maggie. It’s okay to be human, but you have to stay calm. Can you do that?”

Maggie nodded her head. Mac took a breath and turned her headset on for Will to hear. Will, as soon as you can, go to Maggie Jordan at the Trade Center.” 

Will saw the New York feed. He didn’t know exactly what he saw, but he knew it was devastating. “Thanks John. We’re going to turn our attention back to the Trade Center and our producer Maggie Jordan. Maggie, we just saw something on the monitor. Can you tell us what we’re looking at?”

“The second building, the South Tower, just completely collapsed.”

Mac watched Will in the monitor. He first checked to make sure they weren’t showing him on the air, then winced. “Mute Will while she talks.” 

“You mean a side of the building collapsed?”

Mac could hear his voice begin to break. Don called DC and told them to be on standby. “It’s okay, Will. It’s okay to be human.” Mac saw the look Will gave her. It made sense, anchors should be tellers of fact, cold, hard facts. Anything else felt wrong to him. “Trust me, Will. If you show just a little of what this feels like, people will connect with you. This is how you get that game winning goal.”

For a second, Will wanted to laugh. He’d never played soccer in his life, and this woman was trying to keep him centered with soccer analogies. And it felt ridiculous with what Maggie was reporting. When Maggie finished describing what happened to the tower and the panic around her, Will picked it up, wishing he could be that soccer striker that Mac imagined him to be. Will took a second and said, “We are talking about massive casualties right now and… my God.”

“I’m pulling him Mac.”

Mac’s gaze never left Will. She shook her head. “He’s got this.”

“That is extraordinary.”

Don switched his headset to Will. “Will, we’re going to a replay.” He shut off Will and looked at Mac. “He needs a minute. I think we all do.” Don walked out of the control room. Mac looked out the window and saw people comforting each other. People crying. She looked at the skeleton crew in control. “If you need a minute we can let DC run this studio.”

Her crew silently shook their heads. 

“Will, we’re going to stay here as long as you want it.” She looked back at her crew and they nodded in agreement. “If it becomes too much, signal me and we have DC on standby. 

It was an extraordinary day. Mac forced Will off the air at noon when DC could take over for a little while. Elliot came back after the island got shut down completely with no subway service. Sloan took a fourth, overnight shift on the air. 

When Sloan started her shift, one of the morning EPs that didn’t have anywhere to go insisted on relieving Mac, though Mac had a feeling Will insisted that happen. She, Will, Charlie, Don, and a ridiculous number of others hadn’t had a moment to themselves. If they didn’t have responsibilities on air, they were organizing and planning for what to put on air next. Finally, when the overnight started, they felt like they could breath. Charlie invited Will and Mac to his office. Will went quickly, knowing that the boos would flow freely. Mac asked for minute, expecting another meeting. When she got up to Charlie’s office, she saw the men had started without her. 

“Today was hard,” Charlie started. “Tomorrow will be hard too. It will get easier. And then one day we’ll look back at today and remember how resilient and brave the human species can be. Firefighters and police officers running into burning buildings. People helping each other. We had to report today on true evil, people who conceived of and did evil things. But the stories we will tell are the ones about the good that people are capable. The way we can pull together and forget our differences in moments like this. Tomorrow we’ll start hearing stories of heroes big and small.”

After a few more drinks, Will and Mac left Charlie’s office. As they rode the elevator down to their floor, Will asked if Mac was bunking in the office tonight. “I think I have to, no way home. And I have to relieve Judy at 6. Kinda pointless to go home now.”

“I’m on at 8. No reason to go back either.” Will walked her to her office and they found Martin snoring on an air mattress. Will put his arm around her and turned her towards his office. “You can take the couch, I’ll get an air mattress. And then I’ll tell you about a game called American football.”

Mac laughed, appreciating the chance after a day like today. “Thank you for the offer, but…”

Will got serious. “Mac, nothing is going to happen. I promise. I’ve never had any fantasies about sex on my office desk. You need some sleep and I just don’t want to be alone tonight. That’s all this is.”

Mac looked back at her office, then at Will. “Let me see what wardrobe has and I’ll be right there.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a hard story to write for a lot of reasons. ON that day, I was a grad student who lived just far enough outside St Louis that I didn't have good TV reception. My primary source of income was doing an adult paper route (adult means that we drove cars and threw 200 papers a morning). My classes were in the evenings and my campus job didn't start until late morning/early afternoon. So, after I delivered my last paper at 5AM or so, I went back home and slept until 10, central, 11 in New York. I called a friend to ask something about buying a car, and he told me to turn on my tv, the world was at war. 
> 
> All that to say I didn't see any of the coverage that morning. And while most people I knew were in a 9/11 trance from seeing it every minute for about a month, I didn't watch as much as most people I knew because I couldn't. But I remember having that glazed over feeling. Thanks to Youtube, I was able to see how it was covered as it happened. I was shocked at how traumatizing that morning was. A lot of what Will says on air in this piece comes from things Peter Jennings said that morning. What I appreciated about him over some of the other networks was that he seemed the most human. You could hear the shock in his voice as things kept happening. 
> 
> I've rewritten this a few times to keep it from being too graphic. I apologize if I didn't sanitize it enough.


End file.
